Certain applications require use of a two part telescoping strut for supporting an electrical box or similar device in a studded wall. The strut includes two horizontally adjustable telescoping parts which are used to adjust the length of the strut to match the distance in between a pair of studs for proper mounting of the strut to the pair of studs. The strut includes a fastening mechanism, such as an outwardly opening V-shape horizontal groove, to facilitate positioning, alignment and fastening of such boxes to the strut. The driving of a fastener from the box to the fastening mechanism, not only aligns and fastens the box with the strut, but also secures the two horizontally adjustable telescoping parts of the strut together.
Unfortunately electrical boxes come in two separate depths which requires different spacing or set back of the strut from the edges of the studs for each box depth size. Therefore, a customer or installer would require different types of struts for different box depths even though the only difference in the struts would be a difference in the pre-bent ends or flanges by means of which the strut parts are secured to the studs. Pre-bent flanges for one type of stud mounting make it difficult if not impossible to mount the strut in any other fashion. This problem has created shipping and inventory problems for customers which required field selection of the right strut for the right box, and for the right stud mounting application.
Additionally, when fastening the strut to a stud, an installer would typically need to hold the strut with one and a fastener, such as a screw or nail, and fastening device, such as a screw driver or hammer, with another hand. The installer would then have to insert the fastener into the strut will holding the strut in the correction location on the stud, otherwise the strut would fall to the floor. Often times the installer would lose his or her grip on the strut and the strut would move or fall, resulting in possible misalignment of the fastened strut with the stud and a possible increase in the time required to install the box and fasten the strut to the stud.
It would therefore be desirable to have a strut having the box securing advantages of the noted prior art strut, which could quickly be field formed to accommodate the box depth, while at the same time could be readily mounted to any interior or exterior surface of a metal stud, or the exterior of a wood stud.